Singapore Is Asia’s Most Competitive City, Economist Says

Visitors look at the central business district skyline from the SkyPark atop Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Photographer: Sam Kang Li/Bloomberg

March 13 (Bloomberg) -- Singapore is Asia’s most
competitive city in attracting businesses, efficiency and
promoting a clean environment, according to an Economist
Intelligence Unit report commissioned by Citigroup Inc.

The island, ranked by the World Bank as the easiest place
to do business, was the world’s third-most competitive city
after New York and London among 120, according to the report.
Singapore ranked the highest in financial maturity and physical
capital, beating Hong Kong, which was ranked fourth overall, the
report showed.

“Our strong attributes of trust, knowledge, connectivity
and livability have underpinned our ability to attract
investments, business, talent and ideas,” Leo Yip, chairman of
Singapore Economic Development Board, said today in a statement.
“It is also becoming a strategic location for Asian enterprises
to build capability to grow international markets.”

Singapore has cut taxes in recent years to spur investment,
prompting companies to hire hundreds of thousands of people from
overseas. Foreigners and permanent residents make up more than a
third of the nation’s 5.2 million population. The city has
brought in about 1 million people since the beginning of 2005 as
the government allowed more immigration to make up for a
declining birth rate.

The city state forecasts its economy will expand 1 percent
to 3 percent this year after growing 4.9 percent in 2011. The
current gross domestic product forecast for Singapore in 2012
doesn’t factor in “downside risks emanating from abroad,” the
trade ministry said on Feb. 16.

‘Neck to Neck’

While Singapore and Hong Kong were “neck to neck” in most
of the categories, Singapore outperformed in environmental
governance and global appeal, said Sudhir Thomas Vadaketh,
senior editor at Economist Intelligence Unit.

Asia ranked the highest in terms of economic strength, the
most weighted category in the ranking, making up 15 cities in
the top 20, the report said. Of these, 12 cities are in China,
the report showed.

“Asia’s economic rise is clearly reflected in the economic
strength of its cities,” Stephen Bird, chief executive officer
of Citigroup’s Asia-Pacific region. “Cities are engines of
global growth that are transforming the landscape of investment,
talent and business.”

The 120 cities account for about 29 percent of the global
economy with a combined GDP of $20.2 trillion. The report looked
at such categories as economic growth, social aspects,
infrastructure and talent to identify areas of opportunities,
Michael Zink, head of Citigroup for the Southeast Asian region,
said today in Singapore.